A Montana senator who plays a key role in advancing a bill in Congress which would give D.C.
control of the RFK site long term, for potential use as the site of a new Washington Commanders stadium, is demanding team ownership bring back the old Indian logo when the team was named the “Redskins.”
Washington Football changed the “Redskins” name in 2020, after then owner Daniel Snyder responded to economic pressure in the wake of the George Floyd protests by retiring the name and logo.
Meriam-Webster Dictionary defines the term as being “used as an insulting and contemptuous term for an American Indian.”
The team then called itself the “Washington Football Team” before rebranding as the Commanders in 2022.
In an advanced copy of remarks prepared for a hearing on the RFK legislation Wednesday and obtained by WUSA9, Sen.
Steve Daines (R-Montana) is demanding current Commander’s ownership and the NFL “honor the pride, history and heritage of the Blackfeet Tribe who are my constituents in Montana for the tribe’s contributions to the team’s legacy.”
Daines says the team’s old logo was based on the image of Chief Two Guns White Calf, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe.
He says in 1971, a tribe member named Blackie Wetzel met with former Washington Redskins owner George Allen, then team Head Coach and General Manager, and suggested the use of Chief Two Guns White Calf face as the team’s new logo, changing it from a single “R.”
